Amplified Bible
Proverbs 20:9
9Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin?”
Proverbs 20:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
- New International Version (NIV)Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?
- English Standard Version (ESV)Who can say, "I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin"?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Who can say, “I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin”?
Context of Proverbs 20:9
7The righteous man who walks in integrity and lives life in accord with his [godly] beliefs— How blessed [happy and spiritually secure] are his children after him [who have his example to follow]. 8A [discerning] king who sits on the throne of judgment Sifts all evil [like chaff] with his eyes [and cannot be easily fooled]. Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin?” 10Differing weights [one for buying and another for selling] and differing measures, Both of them are detestable and offensive to the Lord. 11Even a boy is known and distinguished by his acts, Whether his conduct is pure and right.
Read all of Proverbs 20Proverbs 20:9 word by word
מִֽי־יֹ֭אמַר זִכִּ֣יתִי לִבִּ֑י טָ֝הַ֗רְתִּי מֵחַטָּאתִֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Proverbs 20:9
- 1 Kings 8:46“When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and hand them over to the enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the enemy’s land, [whether] far away or near;
- 2 Chronicles 6:36“When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and hand them over to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to a land far away or near,
- Job 14:4Who can make a clean thing out of the unclean? No one!
- Job 15:14What is man, that he should be pure and clean, Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous and just?
- Job 25:4How then can man be justified and righteous with God? Or how can he who is born of a woman be pure and clean?
- Psalms 51:5I was brought forth in [a state of] wickedness; In sin my mother conceived me [and from my beginning I, too, was sinful].
- Ecclesiastes 7:20Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who always does good and who never sins.
- 1 Corinthians 4:4I am aware of nothing against myself and I feel blameless, but I am not by this acquitted [before God]. It is the Lord who judges me.
- James 3:2For we all stumble and sin in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says [never saying the wrong thing], he is a perfect man [fully developed in character, without serious flaws], able to bridle his whole body and rein in his entire nature [taming his human faults and weaknesses].
- 1 John 1:8If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.]
Commentaries on Proverbs 20:9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 9Who can say, I have made any heart clean - No man. But thousands can testify that the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed them from all unrighteousness. And he is pure from his sin, who is justified freely through the redemption that is in Jesus.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9A warning voice against the spirit, which, ignorant of its own guilt, is forward to condemn others.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9Verse 9 Some can say, Through grace, we are cleaner than we have been; but it was the work of the Holy Spirit.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 9Wise people know their own weaknesses. Pride stops people from seeing their faults (Proverbs 6:17–18; 11:2; 13:10; 15:33; 16:18; 18:12; see also 1 John 1:8–10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. The interrogation in the affirmative strengthens the implied negation (compare Job 15:14; Ec 7:20).Read the comment
Topics related to Proverbs 20:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Proverbs 20
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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